Phaselis and Cineviz Limani 14-15 June
Our furthest destination in the easterly direction was the ancient port of Phaselis which actually consists of two adjacent bays and an ancient town in between them. This town dates back to 690 BC and at one point would have had a magnificent main street which would have been very spectacular in its day, with all modern facilities an ancient Roman could want, including numerous bath houses. There is also a beautiful little amphitheatre from where one can see Mount Solymnus at 2400 metres high in the background.

The location is very pretty and had an odd mix of tourists exploring the ruins and local Turks wanting to spend a day at the beach. There are lots of tour boats that come into the harbour that bring both types of tourists. We were curious about the Turkish fascination with pirate boats, usually filled with young Turks out to have a party, including dance music and the mandatory bubble bath. As the boats entered the bay they were surrounded by a cloud of bubbles. On the morning we left we counted six pirate boats and of course any worthwhile pirate boat has to have the image of the ultimate pirate on the back "Johnny Depp".

After leaving pretty Phaselis we motor-sailed back to the spectacular Cinvez Limani. We have a light wind off the port bow that assisted us on our journey.

Finike 16 - 18 June
Today we had an "interesting" trip from Cineviz Limani to the marina at Finike. We left in beautiful sunshine with a light following breeze headed south down around the tip of the mainland. As we turned west the weather on the other side of the mountains looked a little more threatening. Within 10 minutes we went from almost calm to blowing 20+ knots with gusts over 30 kt and a very active thunderstorm nearby. As we had seen this weather coming we had erred on the side of caution and downed all sails so SCII handled it all well for us just motoring through it. Luckily the thunderstorm did not go right over us and by the time we got to Finike the weather had cleared up again.

We spent two days in Finike to refuel and restock and also wanted to see some of the nearby sites. Our original intention was to hire a car but as the local office was closed we hired a taxi for a morning. This turned out well with our own personal driver who took us to the ancient site of Myra and on to the church of St Nicholas in Demere. Nicholas was the patron saint of the sailor and better known as the original Santa Claus.

The ancient site of Myra was well worth a look with a very impressive Roman era amphitheatre and Lycian rock tombs cut into the nearby hills. It was an enjoyable outing and a stunning coastal trip there and back. The coastal road clings to steep rocky cliffs, with rugged paths down to secluded beaches, with the mandatory sparking turquoise water. Many of the locals were taking advantage of the conditions and spending this last day of a holiday period by the water.

Saturday nights evening meal was a ¾ hour walk around the town of Finike looking for a restaurant and ending up at a place that was just across the road from the marina gate. Had an excellent meal there of a whole Sea Bass that had been split and each half grilled separately to perfection.

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